“Obviously, Call of Duty has defined the size of the shooter market, so to get one over on them? That’s great,” he said.

“Similarly, Skyrim was in there, Valve’s Portal 2 was in there, Batman was in there and the Minecraft stuff’s going on as well. This is just about coming number one. It’s not about who we beat. It’s about being number one.”

Blackwood added that DICE’s fresh take on the modern shooter drove public love for BF3.

“I think people wanted something different. It’s so unique. The different level of depth you get on the multiplayer, with the vehicles, and when you just can’t believe you had a ‘Battlefield moment,’ it just blows you away. It offers something that no other game in the genre – actually no other game – actually does. It’s amazing.”